ACCORDING to a recent public opinion poll conducted by the MVK agency on behalf of the daily SME, 55 percent of respondents believe that foreign direct investment raises the standard of living in FDI target areas.
One-third of respondents disagree, saying that the arrival of an investor brings about no change whatsoever.
Those who believe a connection does not exist between investment and standard of living are primarily pensioners, housewives and voters supporting the Slovak Communist Party, the Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and in some cases, opposition party Smer.
According to social scientist Pavol Haulík, when investments "do not touch a person directly, it is hard to make that person see the positive effects".
